This invention relates to packaging a primary article such as cans or bottles in multiple packaged cartons and is more particularly concerned with feeding such cartons in collapsed condition from a hopper, and for initiating and then completing a set of operation of cartons in sequence.
One common method used by known packaging machines typically comprises moving a collapsed carton from the suppliers of such cartons or blanks. The collapsed carton is then erected, and the cans, bottles or other articles to be packaged are placed in the erected carton. Alternatively, a supplier of cartons in the form of flat blanks may be provided. After withdrawal of the carton from the supply, a carton may first be partially formed and is then placed on to the articles. The carton is further formed into the completed package.
The majority of known packaging machines are dedicated machines which construct only one size of carton. Therefore, modern bottling plants are required to use a plurality of packaging machines to package different carton types, each machine taking up considerable floor space and being expensive to purchase and operate.
However, a limited number of packaging machines are capable of packaging different sizes or types of carton, for example six, eight or twelve packs of a wrap around carton. All such machines require adjustment when switching from one size or type of carton to another. This adjustment includes the manual removal of all of the cartons within the packaging machine and possibly the mechanical adjustment of components in the machine. During this change over period, which can be thirty minutes or more, a machine cannot be used (known as “down time”), which is an expensive delay in a bottling plant. Such a delay may even result in down time for the entire bottling line, not just the packaging machine, if problems arise during the change over procedure.
WO 98/52826 illustrates a carton set up machine having a suction device for withdrawing collapsed basket type cartons from a hopper or magazine parallel to, but offset from the longitudinal axis of the machine. The blanks are stored with their bottom panel lowermost and are rotated about a substantially vertical axis to be transferred from the magazine to the feed of the machine. The cartons are then engaged by the handle panel to progress through the first stage of the erecting process.
The off-set nature of the hopper means that the machine requires more floor space, and the fact that the blanks must be stacked on their bottom flaps weakens the stack, and may lead to feed and subsequent construction problems.
Pending PCT applications PCT/US98/19523, PCT/US98/19646, PCT/US98/196512, PCT/US98/19619 disclose a machine switchable “on the fly” between basket, fully enclosed and wraparound carton types. However, the supply hoppers feed at right angles to the direction of the carton erection process.